Back on May 3rd, we wrote about an article we had read from an affordable housing developer, outlining how he builds his projects (with 20 years of experience). It basically came down to 1) cheap, less desirable land; 2) high density; and 3) effective building plans.
We read Tom Greer's letter to the editor in the Thursday 7/5 News-Gazette. He outlines the combination of forces that came together to make him sure that The Preserve project is going to work:
1) $5 million in state grant funds
2) $1 million in grant funds from Osceola County
3) School impact fee waivers
4) Reduced land costs
5) Loans from local financial institutions
With all of that, we have to ask...is there any builder in this area that wouldn't sign on to a project where there is a basket of money, discounted land prices, and fee waivers? Sounds like a sweetheart of a deal to us. In fact, we would guess that a lot more housing would become affordable if the local governments just waived their impact fees, never mind the free (tax-generated) grants.
As long as we're thinking about it, has anyone been past the old Reedy Creek Inn that was going to be developed into moderate-income condos? (See our blog entry, 3/26/07.) If that actually gets done on time (they quoted August at that time), it would really bring into question whether local governments can compete on building projects with the private sector.
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